MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A local man sat down with WREG after he was accused of working on animals when he didn’t have a license to practice medicine.
Eric Harton said he’s been falsely accused. Last week police said they caught him in an undercover sting giving vaccinations to dogs even though he’s not a vet and has no license. Officers also said his facility was dirty with dead animals being stored on his property.
“What can I say except just tell the truth and that’s what I’m doing,” said Eric Harton.
Not just tell– Harton WREG around his pet grooming shop called Pet’s Choice Animal Clinic.
He said it proves his innocence.
Harton said he took over the shop several years ago for veterinarians he used to work for.
Since then he has run the grooming and kenneling service.
That changed last week when police claimed they found controlled substances used to euthanize animals when they searched the property.
Harton, who doesn’t have a license to perform any medical work, said the substances weren’t his.
“He left that here and I got charged for it,” he told WREG’s Shay Arthur.
“But you worked here by yourself for 2 years and you never found these controlled substances?” she asked.
“No. never.”
“How is that possible?”
“Because I guess in the search warrant they dug it up and found it,” he replied.
Undercover Officers said they caught Harton giving a dog a vaccination he wasn’t supposed to last week, but he claimed it was actually a parvo shot, something he claims anyone can get.
Police reported it was a rabies vaccine.
They also said multiple dead dogs were also found in a freezer but Harton said those were left from before too.
“When the doctor was here, they were left in the freezer because he didn’t pay the pick up services,” he claimed.
Police said they confiscated eight malnourished dogs, but Harton showed us dog food and said he took care of the animals at his shelter.
The place was filled with old surgical tools he claimed the doctors ditched.
He simply said he kept them around because “they weren’t bothering him.”
Harton said now his name and livelihood are now ruined, but at the end of the day he’s maintaining his innocence.
“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t care about animals,” he said. “I have done nothing wrong.”
